Hall & Oates

In their fifth decade performing, Daryl Hall and John Oates are showing no signs of slowing down.

Exactly a year and two days from the last time Hall & Oates played Cleveland, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee act is back with opener Train for a show May 22 at Quicken Loans Arena.

Fans attending the show from the platinum blue-eyed-soul/pop band can expect to hear hits such as “Rich Girl,” “Sara Smile,” “Kiss on My List,” “Private Eyes” and “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do),” as well as new single “Philly Forget Me Not,” which was recorded with Train.

The News-Herald talked to Oates about his memories of The Buzzard, the band’s continued popularity and how long Hall & Oates plans on touring arenas.

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Q Hello John, we’re excited to get Hall & Oates back in Cleveland.

A Cleveland has been a great rock ’n’ roll town, and it’s one of the early places that embraced me and Daryl. The Agora was a regular stop on our tour schedule. We had WMMS as a big supporter of us. They were playing our album tracks before we even had any hits. That’s why we developed a following.

Q Can you elaborate for those younger readers who maybe don’t understand the impact WMMS had back in the ’70s and ’80s?

A In today’s world, music is everywhere. It’s streaming, it’s kind of ubiquitous, but back in the day if you had a rock station in a town like Cleveland, that was it right there. You tuned into that station. You weren’t getting the music from any other place. So if a radio station like WMMS embraced you and played you, then you were going to be heard by millions of people, and that was really important.

Q Speaking of lasting importance, how is Hall & Oates, which hasn’t released a new album in more than a decade, able to tour arenas for the second straight year?

A The demand is there. It’s amazing. Listen, when you’ve been in the music business for as long as I have, you learn to say “yes” a lot when things are going well. You don’t say “no” too often because sometimes you don’t get a second chance. And that’s how it is. It’s kind of ingrained in my personality and in me for doing this for so long. People want to hear us, want to see us, they’re buying tickets to these giant arenas, so I think we’re saying “yes.”

Q Looking back, are you surprised the band is still drawing such large audiences?

A I’m grateful, appreciative and in a way surprised. The songs have stood the test of time, and they now resonate with a whole new generation of fans. We still have our old-guard fans, but we’ve got an entirely new generation of fans who have kind of grown up around this music, and for them it’s somehow resonates. I guess that’s a testament to the quality of the songwriting. If you think about it, older people tend not to want to go to arenas to hear music, so if you’re filling arenas you have a lot of young fans. That’s just really an amazing feeling to know that these songs that were written so long ago still sound good to them.

Q Speaking of which, your first hit “She’s Gone” came out 45 years ago.

A It’s mind-boggling. If somebody told me in the early ’70s, when we were starting out, that in 2018 we would be bigger than we ever have been in our entire career, and have this entire legacy of music behind us, I never would have believed them. Let’s put it this way: There were a lot of drugs going on in those early days, so I would assume they were taking them.

Q This tour is quite a bill with Train as your opening act. How did that come about?

A We like to do things with bands and artists who (we) have a relationship with in one way or another. I played with Train on many occasions. I’ve done their Caribbean cruise. I’ve jammed with them at the Aspen Jazz Festival, while Pat Monahan was on Daryl’s TV show (“Live From Daryl’s House”). So we kind of have a relationship with them. Also, they’ve got a lot of hits in the ’90s and ’00s. They’re kind of the next generation of great pop music, and we thought it would be a good bill.

Q To mark the tour, Hall & Oates and Train released the new “Philly Forget Me Not.” What was your impression the first time hearing the track?

A Oh, I knew it was great. I heard it and said, “That hook is a mile wide. Let’s go.” It came from Pat Monahan. He was working with a couple of songwriters. I guess they started saying Train was going out with Hall & Oates and it would be cool if we had a record together to just promote the tour, basically. That’s how it started.

Q What’s the future hold for Hall & Oates?

A I think we can go forward as long as we want to and as long as we’re physically capable of doing it. Right now, we’re very fortunate, and we’re in very good health. I don’t know whether we’ll continue these giant mega tours in these huge arenas. But as long as I can play and I feel like I’m able to play and sing and do what I do, you know, there you go.

Q Back in the day Jack LaLanne was known as one of the healthiest senior citizens. At 70, that moniker may now belong to you.

A Well, my doctor told me that the other day, too, so I’m happy about that. I’ve got good genes. My dad is 95, and he’s still driving a car and plays golf. All I know, I better save my money because I’m planning on living for a long time.